Since January, 2010, this blog has been dedicated to year-round coverage of the New York theater scene and, particularly, the annual Tony Awards race. The site features commentary on each production and its chances at nominations or wins, with keen insights into voter trends, leading to expert predictions.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Cinderella Eyes Broadway

The Rodgers and Hammerstein musical version of Cinderella has its sights set on Broadway. The musical was written by the composing duo in the 1950s and premiered in a live, made-for-TV movie in 1957 and starred Julie Andrews in the title role. The movie was done again for TV in 1965 and starred Leslie Warren, Celeste Holm, and Ginger Rodgers. A third TV version, in 1997, starred Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, Whitney Houston, Bernadette Peters, Victor Garber, and Jason Alexander. The stage version, which is looking to land on the Great White Way during the 2012-2013 Broadway season, will have a book by Douglas Carter Bean, who received Tony nominations for his play The Little Dog Laugned and for the book of the musical Xanadu, and who is currently represented on Broadway by Sister Act: The Musical and the soon-to-open Lysistrata Jones.

According to a press release, "the production is expected to feature several songs that were cut from other Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals including South Pacific ("Now is the Time") and The Sound of Music ("I've Lived and I've Loved"). It would also feature several changes to the book including eliminating the characters of Cinderella's birth mother and father, as well as the King and Queen (who will be replaced by one character who oversees the Prince and the kingdom)."